If you haven’t gotten the book yet, here is your chance for free! This has been the book I wanted to write for years now. Don't look for code in this book (ok, there are exactly two lines of code) - but instead I am writing about what being a software developer has meant to me. Hopefully some of the advice and observations will help you in your own career too!

I recently released my new writing project: “The Opinionated Software Developer”. This short book (about 35 pages according to Kindle) is a quick look at my experience in software development. It includes a history of my experience in the field as well as a look at the software developer psyche. The hope was to share my opinions about being a developer in the industry including how to deal with co-workers, how to avoid being a brat developer and how to motivate developers in larger organizations.

A long labor of love of mine has finally been birthed. My Essential Windows Phone 7.5 book is now available for Kindle. You can also pre-order the physical book from Amazon or directly from Pearson. While I’ve been assured that the book is printed, sometimes it can take some time to make it into the retail chain for different outlets. To clear up some of this confusion I thought it would be helpful to tell you how you can get the book depending on which retailer you go with:

My new article disruptive technologies is now available on Software Quality Connection. If you’re an organization or developer who are worried about what is coming next, my “Which Platform is Next: All of Them” may be a good read for you.

I just found out that my changes to the article and code for Silverlight 2 RTW are now live. The article makes the small change that it no longer requires you to use EdmGem to build your proxy (using the Service Reference instead). I've also updated the code example to be compatible with .NET 3.5 SP1 and Silverlight 2.

I've talked with lots off prospective authors the last few years since my first book came out. I've tried to do what Chris Sells did for me, scare them... I've explained that it is long hours, lots of dedication and can get in the way of family time. I sure don't take my own advice very well. I've agreed to write another book, "Prescriptive Data Architectures" for Addison-Wesley. Unlike the first book (pre-blog craziness), I plan on using this blog to discuss my experience writing the book as well as a sounding board for my ideas that will be used in the book.

So, why am I writing the book? In my user-group talks and work with customers, I get a lot of questions about what data architecture is right for them. If you read my first book, you might assume that I think that DataSets are right for every project. I do not. I have found that answering the 'right architecture' question is a complex one that involves business, functional and techinical requirements. My goal with the book is to help readers understand their projects. Armed with that knowledge, they can make informed decisions about which data architecture makes the most sense for their project. This is something I have a passion for. That's why I am writing the book.

For the past few years, I have been the editor of O'Reilly's .NET site (ONDotnet.com). It has been a great few years and I have meet some great authors and have had a great time working with O'Reilly's production staff. Doing a website that has new editorial content weekly was a challenge at times, but on the whole is was a spectactular experience.